Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) crystallized the health care debate when he intoned that "I think health care is a privilege. I wouldn't call it a right. ... I do think in our country and in any civil society there should be a safety net for basic health and food and shelter, but that doesn't mean that the whole system should be designed around the belief that people can't make their own decisions, can't be responsible for themselves."
This statement reflects the basic difference of philosophy between most Liberals and Conservatives, Democrats and Republicans. Democrats and Liberals view health care as a right, Republicans and Conservatives view it as a privilege. This overarching disagreement is at the heart of what has plagued attempts to reform the health care system for decades.
Perhaps it is the ideological difference in interpretation of the words in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Whether or not someone believes health care is incorporated in this phrase probably goes a long way to determining their stand in this debate.
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1 comment:
Very well said – and balanced. What is interesting to me is that this isn’t about health “care” as it is about health “coverage”. I am not personally aware of instances where necessary treatment or care was denied to someone but I am aware of cases where uninsured people having necessary treatment had to go through bankruptcy because of how much they owed to the care giver. There are laws that require drivers to have some level of auto insurance. Why not require everyone to have some minimal coverage for a catastrophic health issue? So, for me, the debate is about the extent of the government’s role in both health care & coverage. I highly doubt we will get to the point of the government running all health care including the operation of all providers. But the government is already a payer in the context of Medicaid & Medicare. This debate is about whether the government should also become a commercial payer.
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